Bulkhead CEO Clarifies Studio Crunch Policy and Social Media Screening for New Hires

Bulkhead, the development studio behind the newly released early access shooter Wardogs, has drawn attention online following comments from its CEO, Joe Brammer, regarding the studio's stance on development crunch and hiring practices. Wardogs, a warfare FPS, launched into early access on Steam on September 10 and quickly became a commercial success, surpassing one million copies sold on its first day and reaching over two million sales within a week. However, this success has been accompanied by public discussion about the studio's workplace culture.

Speaking on The Game Business Show, Brammer discussed how Bulkhead handles crunch. While he noted that the studio tries to avoid intense periods of overtime, he stated that they do not hide that it will happen at some point. Brammer explained that the company screens applicants' social media accounts and may choose not to hire individuals who publicly criticize crunch culture.

"We check people's socials, and if you're constantly tweeting anti-crunch messaging: 'This should never ever be a thing', we know that and go, 'Look, you're not going to be happy here, so we're not going to go with you'," Brammer said during the interview. He added that Bulkhead wants to be known as a place where people come to work hard. "If you care about the work you're making and the result of what you make here, you'll feel really valued. If you don't, you will feel slave-driven," he remarked.

Brammer also stated that employees are financially rewarded for working hard. He explained that those who do work hard receive life-changing returns, though the podcast noted that not all Bulkhead employees own shares or receive bonuses.

Following negative feedback online, Brammer took to social media platform X to address and clarify his comments. He denied claims of "mandatory crunch," calling the characterization made up. He refused to engage in a public debate on the platform but shared several details about Bulkhead's workplace practices to counter the negative narrative.

According to Brammer, over 80 percent of the shares in the studio are owned by 50 percent of the staff. Additionally, he noted that Bulkhead adopted a four-day workweek for half of the development period and gave the entire staff the month of December off. He concluded by assuring that staff will be rewarded accordingly for the successful launch of Wardogs and urged critics to read his full interview to understand the context of his statements.